Dejiu bent down, rooting around for a loose stone.

  “If it worked once..” He found one, working it loose. “This should do nicely.”

  He needed to get closer. “Now… where do I want to do this.”

  He scanned the group surrounding the next stairwell. There. A bit to his left.

  He tossed it above their heads, hitting some rough debris in the far corner of the chamber. Oddly enough, only a single daimon looked that away, at least proving that they could sense something other than themselves.

  Dejiu shuffled, careful not to let his loose robes drag over the jagged stone ground. His feet moved swiftly. He couldn’t miss this opportunity in the senseless patrol — a lone daimon extending close to his stairwell, leaving behind the other nine. Will it hear him? Smell him? He’ll figure it out.

  Each step was careful as he stepped over loose stone and stray fissures with ease, his passage near silent compared to the soft wafting of ashy hell air shifting inside the Pillarshard. Always careful to keep an odd rising or a semi-devoured carcass himself and his targets.

  Their disjointed patrol always seemed to leave one watching in his direction simply due to how many there were. Well actually… did that even matter with their clawed eyes? Bah, he wasn’t going to risk discovery before he killed at least one No matter how obliviously troubled they seemed.

  Being extra careful, he shimmied around the poor wingless chap holding a stone feather knife in its finger-like talons. Now or never.

  Breath caught in his throat. Dejiu moved.

  Splintered feathers caved in. Bashed fleshed and dark ichor exploded from the back of its disfigured head. Its body crumpled. The malformed humanoid body dropped lifelessly. Don’t think so much about killing, Dejiu.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  And it didn’t go unnoticed. A hideous crack rang out across the chamber after all.

  The nine others looked his way with cocked heads at once. Guttural caws filled the room. However, Dejiu frowned and raised an eyebrow. Did they seem a little… too synchronous?

  Ah, well, one taken down is better than nothing. Steeling himself he dashed back to the narrow entrance. Holding his place inside the stairwell, ready to make his stand.

  Now I can’t be surrounded. Three at the front at most. And I have a polearm…

  With a jerky lilting gait, the daimons set off towards him. Ready and willing to rend the flesh from his bones for a quick meal.

  The first one through the arched entrance was armed with a longer, slimmer, sword-like feather. Its jagged edge met his shaft with a parry, and in a burst of strength, he wedged his spade deep into its less armored neck. Almost beheading the daimon.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  The corpse lifelessly lurched forward. Following it is another wild swing from overhead coupled with a thrust from the right. These soldiers were closing in quickly, swarming the entrance.

  He narrowed his eyes and let the overhead swing miss as it hit its fallen kin’s body. Splattered in ichor, the daimon stumbled over its off-balance swing as Dejiu shifted his attention to the one on his right. He blocked the thrust and caught the blow. Rotating to the bladed end of his spade, he used his distance and thrust at its clawed eyes. The two prongs of his crescent moon blade perfectly lodged into its already empty eyes. He just took advantage of the softer skin rather than redundantly blinding them.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  “Agh!” He cried.

  He was too slow on the kill, the daimon that stumbled recovered enough to cut at his leg. Feeling a warm trickle on the side of his calf, Dejiu scowled brought down the spade end and crushed the daimon’s head. “Idiot! You already have the best position, how could you slip up!” He reprimanded himself. His inexperience was showing.

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  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  His left leg felt weak, but he couldn’t worry about it because there were still five more of the flock left. Fortunately, he was right — the addition of their fallen flock only aided in his high ground and spade’s distance.

  He poked, impaled, stabbed.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  Four more. Ichor spilled, running down the stairwell. Each step the flock would gain, Dejiu was already ahead despite being on the back foot and awkwardly climbing stairs simultaneously. It must’ve been Buddha’s grace that he hasn’t lost his footing.

  They all surged into range the moment they breached the debris of their fallen. Their contorted movements mixed in an unnatural surge of speed almost like he did, only they moved inhumanly despite their humanoid appearance.

  Dejiu’s face blanched.

  He could withdraw his strike and attempt to dodge the incoming blow. However, the only way he could do that would be to throw himself to the side. Leaving him unbalanced and the initiative firmly out of his hands. No time. He had to commit killing the daimon in exchange.

  He braced his core, twisting slightly to minimize his profile.

  “Kruek, damned daimon!” He cried, his spade drew a straight line across another daimon's head.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  He freed a hand and dislodged the feather sword from his lower left. His robe a bloody mess. “Gah!”

  An unsettling amount of blood spewed out from his wound, but fighting a grounded battle against this many would be worse.

  Despite his advantage, they had numbers. Armor too, can’t forget that. One day, he’ll get the battle robes of a warrior monk, until then, he’ll just have to ignore the sharp discomfort in his abdomen.

  He backstepped and gained higher ground. One daimon swung a comically heavy feather hatchet of sorts, cleaving into the Pillarshard’s steps. Dejiu ascended another step in time. He lunged and stabbed into the top of its soft head.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  Pivoting, he dislodged its bladed end and blocked an attack before pushing them, sending them toppling. He earned a few seconds alone with a single wingless soldier of the two left. But before he attacked, his face paled.

  The Wilted Stem’s temporary strength ended.

  Dejiu grit his teeth. His prana cycled brilliantly, but the blooming season is impermanent. Ever fading. So he’s stuck with regular cycling.

  His spade weakly punched into the daimon’s torso, but it barely drew blood. Damn armor. He even had the force of thrusting downwards! Unfair!

  The daimon shoved his shaft aside and closed the gap. A vicious swing later, Dejiu felt its jagged edge rind his left arm. It pulled flesh and what was left of his robes. “Urgh!”

  If that wasn’t any better, the one he kicked down earlier trailed behind this daimon.

  "Praise be to Buddha." He croaked.

  He pulled back his spade’s shaft. Weakly blocking the onset of attacks he held his ground. Quickly killing this daimon took precedence over meekly defending. Otherwise, the other one would join.

  “Die!” He cursed un-monk-like.

  His prana tried to bloom, but it was like a flower resting beneath heavy snow. Alive, but biding for spring. It's a poetic way of saying he can’t focus using a newly learned cultivation method in the heat of battle and while being injured.

  “Damn it all!” Fiercely breaking past its humanoid hands, Dejiu made a savagely idiotic move. He impaled the daimon at its torso but used his momentum to follow through and dive from the stairs. With his blade deep inside and still embedded, he made sure to aim his dive to send the other remaining daimon flying.

  CRASH!

  Dejiu croaked and gasped as he tumbled down. He wanted to make sure he was alive, but the wingless soldiers wouldn’t let him. “Fuck, how are they both alive!”

  It was a scramble at the entrance. He wrestled the one with his spade still lodged inside. It’ll die soon, but strength still flowed through its veins. Dejiu wrapped his hands around its coarse and rugged neck, but he couldn’t find the strength to finish before the other crawled to his leg.

  He kicked behind him at the other soldier’s head. “Get off!”

  But then his eyes caught something ground — a stone feather hatchet. Immediately, he abandoned his desire to crush its neck. He scrambled past and reached the feather hatchet. He spun and thwacked the daimon at his feet repeatedly.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  Without pause, he crawled to the last daimon. It still struggled to lift itself or dislodge the lengthy spade in its torso. Dejiu brought the hatchet overhead.

  “Kill them all, right Bing Xin?” He smiled, but the sight was horrifying. He brought down the hatchet onto its head.

  [You have slain an Impure Daimon: Hollow Craven Soldier]

  [You have attained a Soulbound Remnant: Craven’s Rejuvenation Pill]

  He’s spent. Exhausted enough not to claim his ten Hell Shards, he rolled over and into the puddle of ichor. His eyes looked at the ceiling, but his gaze was aimed beyond. To where the unseen sky was above the surface, he raggedly declared, “This one is called Xue Dejiu, I don’t need orders to kill daimons.”